Posted on 04/06/2004 1:53:01 PM PDT by Shermy
Kristof: In addition, the Niger mining program was structured so that the uranium diversion had been impossible.
We already know that uranium diversion occurred within Pakistan's program, yet we're supposed to accept Kristof's assurances re the security of an African kleptocracy?
Mr. Wilson argues that the French managers of the Niger mines, Coegma, couldn't cheat.
I bet Enron's books looked real good too. So?
Investigators focus on domestic culprit 11/2/01
"Authorities probing the wave of anthrax poisonings have turned in recent days to New Jersey universities and private laboratories, looking for clues to bolster the theory that a single person or group with ties to the region -- and not overseas terrorists -- may be responsible for the deadly letters.FBI agents have contacted the facilities to ask specifically about missing equipment and employees who have been fired or who left under questionable circumstances, several companies confirmed.
"It appears that it is a domestic person or group; that is the prevailing thought," a ranking law enforcement source said.
A second senior official agreed that the idea of a home-based terrorist has emerged as a key operative theory, but cautioned the probe is filled with fast-moving developments that could shift the investigation at any point. "People are pursuing everything," the official said.
Investigators are pursuing the thesis that the anthrax terrorist is homegrown because of what they call "negative evidence": they simply have not found any proof linking the attacks to the Sept. 11 hijackings or to any foreign-sponsored groups such as al Qaeda.
"There is a lack of any substantive leads, or any clear-cut calling cards pointing to any organization," one Justice Department official explained.
IE, "negative evidence". What's the saying, "you can't prove a negative?" This is absurd. We have no proof of foreign groups so it must be someone else. Illogic at its extreme.
"At the same time, a preliminary analysis of the tainted letters by FBI specialists suggests a profile similar to that of Unabomber Ted Kaczynski, the reclusive anti-technology mathematician whose deadly mail bombs killed three people and wounded 23 others over two decades, according to sources familiar with the investigation.If only they listened to Colonel Larsen long ago...FBI experts in handwriting and behavioral analysis suspect the anthrax-laced letters were composed by an educated person of foreign descent, (--really??? Was this expert Foster, before he turned?) but someone who has spent much time in the United States and become proficient in English, law enforcement sources say.
...Agents have called or visited many of the state's drug makers, asking about missing equipment or materials and employees who may have been fired or left under questionable circumstances.
"Most, if not all, of the companies in the industry have been meeting with the FBI of late," said Paul Fitzhenry, a spokesman for Peapack-based Pharmacia Co.
Others who confirmed visits included Schering-Plough Corp., Johnson & Johnson, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Aventis Pharmaceuticals. Representatives from the companies said agents asked them not to discuss the details of their conversations.
SUSPICION TURNS DOMESTIC
The domestic terrorist theory has been receiving wider attention in recent days and sparked debate among experts not affiliated with the investigation. (hmmmm...wonder who these "experts" are) Robert Ressler, a former supervisor of the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit, believes agents should be looking for a home-grown bioterrorist.
"It is probably a person working in some lab somewhere," said Ressler. "And the hostility, the mental dysfunction, was present, but the triggering event (on Sept. 11) is what I think caused the person to do this."
But U.S. Air Force Col. (Ret.) Randall Larsen, an instructor and specialist on homeland security at the National War College, said such a plot would require expertise in engineering, microbiology and aerosol physics.
"I do not believe that a single individual -- I don't care how smart he is, Ted Kaczynski or whatever -- can make a sophisticated biological weapon," Larsen said. "It takes a team of people."
But they didn't want to listen to Col. Larsen. He was telling them something they didn't want to hear...
You gotta love making a decision based on "negative evidence". When, in fact, there is a boatload of evidence -- admittedly circumstantial -- connecting foreign terrorists to 9/11 and absolutely none -- circumstantial or otherwise -- pointing toward a domestic terrorist.
None are so blind...
Here's some older information, from no less than Bill Clinton's Defense Department.
Makes interesting reading.
The 9/11 commission's actual title is "National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States." That's a far broader scope than would be apparent from all their lint-picking and navel-gazing as to who was at fault for 9/11. I wonder if any of the wizards on that commission have even figured out that the anthrax letters were a terrorist attack upon the United States. If so, I wonder what we can expect in their report on this particular matter.
I also wonder why all those 20/20-hindsight dot-connectors out there in the media haven't figured out the central role the anthrax attacks must have had in sealing Saddam's fate. Just this morning, some press dude with a sonorous voice and a big title was on C-SPAN holding forth on how the record shows that President Bush was looking at the possibility of attacking Iraq in Nov. 2001.
Well, duh! Wouldn't it be nice if the media would connect THESE dots:
Now that was the ACTUAL state of the nation in Nov. 2001. Given those facts, any — repeat any — President of the United States would be criminally negligent if he didn't:
(1) Demand an inquiry into the possibility that Iraq was behind or connected to the anthrax attacks, if not the hijackings.
(2) Ask for plans to be drawn up for the invasion of Iraq should it become necessary.
Did people go out of their way to recklessly dismiss Saddam's involvement, whether he was involved or not?
Who had an interest in keeping the status quo? Saddam obviously. Others too?
Without a clue November 8, 2003 | Marian Wilkinson
"...The scientist who helped steer the FBI towards Hatfill, Dr Barbara Hatch Rosenberg of the Federation of American Scientists, says she has no regrets. "I know I've gotten a lot of flak. I don't care about that," she said, stressing that she never named Hatfill as a suspect. "My whole point was to make certain they were investigating some evidence that I learnt about from people with more knowledge than I in the case but who couldn't talk."
Well, is Hatfill's lawyers talking to this lady now? Who are these persons? Ritter, Meselson...who?
Unlike the occasional documentary we see on Discovery Channel and elsewhere on TV about the 9/11 attacks, as far as I know there's never been any documentary or annual retrospective about the anthrax attacks. No enterprising investigative reporter or commentator has done a print piece or series on the story. It's just faded away as completely as most dreams fade with the morning light.
I don't think we'll ever get any answers. The Bush administration, for reasons I understand if not entirely agree with, has never cited the anthrax attacks as a key reason to depose Hussein. Yet I believe, given the state of worldwide intelligence on Iraq in 2001-2003, that no American administration could afford to leave Hussein in power in the wake of 9/11 and the first bioweapons attack ever on our soil.
The way the anthrax story has just faded away is very frustrating to me. So, as least for this one American, your continued focus on it is very warmly received.
Looking back, it's astonishing how quickly the FBI locked itself into the domestic perp theory. The first death from anthrax occurred only about a month prior to publication of this article. With all that was going on in the country in that month, the FBI could not possibly have collected enough evidence of any kind on the anthrax case (which was still unfolding across several states) to make any credible judgements whatsoever.
"Who are these persons? Ritter, Meselson...who?"
I would say Stan Bedlington and Glenn Cross.
There are only 6 days left in June for Judge Hurley to issue a new ruling on whether or nor Maureen Stevens' lawsuit against the government can proceed.
What new stories will the FBI tell the judge this time to block the lawsuit? They are at an "urgently crucial phase" of the investigation? They are "close to a breakthrough"? They need to drain the Gulf Of Mexico because they found out Hatfill went on a cruise?
The excitement mounts!
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/04/29/judge_grants_6_month_stay_in_anthrax_suit/
Judge grants 6-month stay in anthrax suit
By Jill Barton, Associated Press Writer | April 29, 2004
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- A judge delayed until June a lawsuit filed by the widow of a man killed by anthrax, siding with federal attorneys who argued the suit jeopardized the government's investigation into the 2001 attacks.
Justice Department attorneys told U.S. District Judge Daniel T.K. Hurley they are at a crucial stage in the anthrax investigation, and that it's a matter of national security to delay the lawsuit.
In a January court filing, the attorneys said six months could allow them to isolate the kind of anthrax used in the attacks. They could not say whether a suspect would be arrested in that time.
Hurley wrote in Tuesday's ruling that the court recognizes the government's "compelling, paramount interest" in completing the investigation.
Robert Stevens, an editor for The Sun tabloid, is believed to have contracted anthrax from a tainted letter sent to the Boca Raton headquarters of American Media Inc. He died October 5, 2001, from inhalation anthrax, a rare and particularly lethal form of the disease.
Anthrax was also sent through the mail to media outlets in New York and a congressional building in Washington, killing four others and sickening more than a dozen people in several states.
Maureen Stevens is seeking more than $50 million in what is believed to be the first lawsuit aiming to hold the federal government accountable for producing and mishandling the deadly strain of anthrax that the lawsuit says killed her husband.
Her attorney, Richard Schuler, who could not be reached on Wednesday, previously called the government's request an elaborate tactic to stall the case.
I know this because Ed Lake, the "Fake Detective", told me so.
Of course the best question would be "What, you mean you just started to analyze the anthrax last November? Why did you wait 2 years?"
Of course that's embarassing, but then, the FBI was a bit victimized itself, being misled - and that whole "pure anthrax" wild goose chase matched to fit someone of Hatfill's capabilities.
I am pretty certain that the Science article shook up some trees, and changed some thinking.
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